Aircraft engines often include a number of interconnected components that perform different functions. These components may require an electrical connection to a source of power on the engine or to another component that has or is connected to a power supply. In addition, many components are used for fluid handling and include various pipes or passageways for carrying fuel or other fluids to and from the engine. Each of these pipes and passageways generally must be connected to another pipe or passageway to allow the component to receive or discharge fluid.
When designing aircraft engine components, it is often necessary to strike a balance between weight and cost. One way of decreasing cost is to make a part easier to install and remove from an engine. Two methods are generally used for mounting components on an aircraft engine. In a first method, components are connected to openings on the engine by various pipes and tubes, each of which must generally be connected individually to the engine. Such components are relatively lightweight, but require significant time and skilled labor to mount and remove for installation, repair or replacement. Furthermore, when such a mounting arrangement is used, it is often necessary to use flexible pipes that can be bent away from a component to allow the component to be removed from its mounting location. If flexible pipe is not used, it may be necessary to provide additional connectors so that a segment of pipe near the component can be removed to make room for installing or removing the component.
A second mounting method uses a heavy manifold that includes all necessary fluid connections. The manifold can be connected to an engine so that openings on the manifold align with openings on the engine to allow multiple fluid connections to be made in one or a small number of steps. This allows for a modular approach to component design and produces components that are relatively easy to assemble. However, providing a manifold for each component can significantly increase the weight and cost of the system. It would therefore be desirable to provide a system and method for mounting aircraft engine components that reduces weight while providing benefits similar to those available from a manifold-type mounting system.